vtmbfandomcom-20200223-history
Anarch Revolt
An Anarch Revolt refers to an instance where large numbers of younger vampires rebel against their elders, either because they no longer wish to be manipulated by the older Cainites or they wish to take the elders' power for themselves. There are two notable Anarch Revolts that have shaped the history of vampires: The Anarch Revolt of the 15th century and The Second Anarch Revolt of the 20th century. The First Anarch Revolt The First Anarch Revolt was spurred on during the days of the . Vampire neonates were appalled by their clan elders who were eagerly sacrificing their young to the Inquisitors. The neonates were perishing at alarming rates during this period. A voice on the Ventrue council named Patrica, expressed to and the elders that they must stand up and fight against the mortal humans. However, Hardestadt and the fellow elders rejected her notions. They felt it was better to hide and masquerade, and form rules that would later be known as Camarilla. Disgusted with inaction, Patrica left the council and sided with rebellious neonates. To drive her point across to the elders as to what she felt was best for vampire society, she donned the name , formed a resistance of Brujah, and marched right into Castle Hardestadt. A huge battled ensued. Though she suffered heavy losses, she successfully committed Amaranth on Hardestadt. When news of the Elder's defeat spread, the young Brujah of Spain turned against their sires in a frenzy that seemed to spontaneously grip all the younger members of the clan. Believing that the systems of blood lineage, clan loyalty, and feudal power, that had dominated Cainite society, were just tools of older vampires to maintain control and use the younger vampires as they pleased. These rebels called themselves Anarchs as a declaration of their rebellion against the laws supposedly left by Caine. Initially regarded as a Brujah problem, the lack of organization, internal rivalries, poor communication, and the greater resources possessed by the elders, prevented the anarchs from making any large gains. The war devolved into a series of skirmishes, starting in Spain. As word spread throughout Europe, however, all the clans began considering the hereto impossible notion of younger Cainites banding together against their elders. Ironically, this likely increased support for the formation of the Camarilla. But by the same token, it also motivated the rebellion to get organized, thus spawning a domino effect of historical anarch campaigns, namely in Italy and Romania. The Italian Front The movement moved to Italy, when joined with the Anarchs in a plot to kill his sire, the . He led a group of allies to the Lasombra Court at the , in , where Lasombra remained in torpor. With the Assamites help, Gratiano tried to make it appear that his brother had turned against their sire. This created a chaotic event that served as a distraction for a full-fledged Anarch attack that the house of Lasombra was unprepared for. With the Assamites assisting in the fight, fell apart. Of the remaining Lasombra, almost all joined the Anarchs following the deaths of many of their elders and their Antediluvian. As to who actually drank the Antediluvian's blood, seems to be some debate. It is interesting to note that the Shadow Guards were reputedly absent when Gratiano and his allies descended on the Antediluvian's tomb. It is assumed that Gratiano performed the Amaranth on his sire, but some claim that an Assamite drank the Antediluvian's blood, while others say that he was drained in unison by the anarchs that survived the battle. Few witnesses seem to agree on what exactly happened. The Romanian Front With news of Lasombra crushed and the Antediluvian dead, it spurred on another campaign to take the Tzimisce down. Led by and his anarch army, they invaded houses of the Tzimisce Lords killing all those who did not convert. At the House of , Lugoj captured and converted the childe, , who was used to give the location of the . Thereafter, Lugoj and his army of anarchs stormed the Monastery of , one of 's most ancient cathedrals. A huge war broke out between The Anarchs and the Tzimisce Guardians. The Guardians were decimated by the anarchs who successfully infiltrated. According to many eye witness accounts, Lugoj stood before everyone present, dispelled the magical protections over the Tzimisce Antediluvian's body, and unearthed the Ancient from his torpor. Without delay, Lugoj greedily consumed its blood not sharing with anyone. The body just crumbled to dust. The Anarchs rejoiced in triumph, this event now setting the stage for a new age, a new Sabbat. It seemed now that Gratiano's prediction was holding true: that all the other clans would fall as easily as his own. However, this event was far from over, at least for the Tzimisce. Lambach, who was present at the time of the Cathedral Raid, possesses a secret that no one discovered. Despite all of the eye witness accounts, the Antediluvian Tzimisce was not destroyed. The body in torpor was a decoy... but no one knows that. Lambach also holds many other secrets that anyone else would just laugh at: Lugoj, is not really Lugoj. Lugoj is dead. Tzimisce had his decoy in place so that he was able to kill Lugoj during heavy battle, then flesh-crafted to look like Lugoj to fake his own diablerie, thus able to assume Lugoj's leadership position in the Sabbat... but no one knows that either. Convention of Thorns As the Tzimisce anarchs moved into Western Europe they brought with them the secret of the , which allowed Cainites to escape the blood bond in exchange for a pledge of loyalty to the anarch cause. This brought the revolt to every clan. As the battles intensified, however, so too did the efforts of the Inquisition, and the pressure of twin assaults led directly to the creation of the Camarilla. The Anarch Revolt continued for seven years after the Camarilla's formation, but the Anarchs were outnumbered and outmatched, and, after suffering heavy losses, their rebellion formally ended with the in 1493. Most of the remaining anarchs joined the Camarilla, but those who did not, mostly the Lasombra and Tzimisce, went on to form the Sabbat. The Second Anarch Revolt Despite the formation of the Camarilla and the Sabbat, self-proclaimed anarchs would continue in isolated groups. During the French Revolution prominent anarchs used the opportunity to fight the traditional claim of the Toreador to . Despite intentions to take the fight to the rest of Europe, the mortal revolution soon fell apart, allowing the Camarilla to move in and restore order. Afterwards, many of the remaining anarchs made their way to the and from there to the West Coast. As quickly increased in prominence the Camarilla established as prince with the hope that he would curb the growing number of anarchs in the region. He largely ignored their presence, however, and over the next few decades several famous anarchs made their way to the city. Finally, in 1944 Don Sebastian realized the full extent of the discontent in his city and ordered the savage beating of one such luminary, . Instead of instantly rebelling, MacNeil lead the anarchs in locating and studying the havens of the local Elders over a period of six weeks, and on December 21, 1944 the Second Anarch Revolt began. The prince was killed and those Elders that were not destroyed fled the city, making it a strong victory for the anarch movement. Soon thereafter the anarchs moved south to and then attempted to liberate . They were repelled by the current Prince of San Francisco, , but in those three months they had claimed everything from the border of to . This region would come to be called the , ruled under a set of principles entitled the . Despite such ideals, the Anarch Free State soon became little more than a region dominated by roving gangs that were often at each other's throats. Whatever the reasons for the inability to create their perfect society, the invasion of the Cathayans and their efforts to turn the anarchs against one another resulted in several anarchs eventually joining the , with little remaining of the Free State by the year 2000. Navigation Category:Vampire Lore Category:Vampire society Category:Events